Well, this was interesting. The writing style had me hook... at first. After that, it was too much. I could tell that the author has clearly studied prose, but this was just hard to read. The repetition repetition repetition every 1 2 7 sentences was really hard to read. It required a special midset that took a while to fall into. I have no natural rhythm. Poetry, songs, and this prose are the bane of my existence. Also why all the numbers. Seriously, is it too hard to spell out one? I know she can do it because the 2 times someone used a number while talking it was spelled out. It really got on my nerves and brought me out of the story.

Lastly, I really just was not a fan of Juliette for a while. There was a lot about this book that was just really, really annoying. Like it took me well over 150 pages to understand the whole dislike for Warner. I mean sure, he wanted to use her as a tool but other than "he's evil!!!!!!! EVIL I TELL YOU!!!!!!" he just seemed like a product of his environment, more of an anti-hero than a villain. Or just the antagonist, but not villainous. It was because she was against him before they even met. And for some reason, I thought she was brought to the rebels first so I was really confused. Her reactions just seemed too preemptive. There was no discovery that she was working with the bad guys.

And the pacing seemed really off as well. Nothing interesting happened for the first 200-ish pages other than Juliette getting out of the asylum.

And the last chapter does no9t automatically mean it's an epilogue just because it's the last chapter in a book. Just like chapter 1 doesn't auto equal prologue. The "epilogue" in this book is literally just the next chapter, taking place three seconds after the previous chapter, still in the same room with the same characters and setting up the next book. That's not an epilogue. It's the final chapter.

Oddly enough though I was engrossed enough (probably because the world, which there was not of) was interesting. I think every time the plot or Juliette started to seem dumb and pointless they were just like 'hey there, flash black to cool interesting stuff. You like this book. You like it. There's political manipulation. You liiiiiiiike this boooooook." Well, that got annoying, and I didn't.

This book was long. Literally, at 633 pages, but it also felt long to read. It was very slow for pretty much the entire book, with a few faster-paced scenes here and there, but mostly, this book felt like a set-up. It was a bit annoying since it's the middle book in a series and the second was very action-packed and faster-paced, but this book has to bridge that first one and the His Dark Mayerials trilogy. So it took a more informative, slow build route. It wouldn't have been a problem if the book was over 600 pages long and took about five hundred to get really interesting. I guess one could argue something about the pacing being a representation of Lyra's awareness or something similar to those lines as she was very passive in the beginning. However, it didn't make the read any better while I was reading. I can't wait for the third book though and that's really my only criticism.

I loved getting Lyra back. I could practically hear her talking through her speech pattern in Dakota Blue Richard's voice. It's really nice to have her back. And Pan and all of them. I do love how the author tied the two works together.

First quick read in a while! I haven't read the first two books as I don't have them, so my only other knowledge is that really old Disney film no one knows exists. however, I still really enjoyed reading this and can't wait to finish the rest that I have. great fantasy. I really wish I'd read this when I was younger, I would have been obsessed with it. I also love that I could see some of the characters as their Disney characters. it was really nice, especially for Gurgi.

I received this book via NetGalley for reviewing purposes. This has in no way influence my opinion.

This book needed more circus. A lot more circus. In the middle. This was like a sandwich. The circus was there at the beginning and the end, trying to make you think this was something different, but in the end, all the ingredients for a romance sandwich were still there. Issues with the circus? Yep, sure, but not mentioned again until the last 10%. Reconnecting with her mom? Sure, but not until the romance has run its course in the last 20%. It could have been an interesting and complex plot point through which character growth and flaw could be shown. Instead, it was brushed off as soon as it could in favour of an extremely checked teenage/high school romance, only to be brought back up again as a happy ending to everything.

There was no morally grey character. They were all either good or bad. There was no nuance, nothing different, nothing that gets promised with a circus theme or the idea of running off to the circus. There was so much that could have been done here, so many deep avenues to be explored, but they were, unfortunately, all glossed over or completely forgot about until the very end. There was no build-up and no payoff.

I enjoyed this and surprised myself with it. It has a very heavy fantasy setting and vibe making it more in line with my memories of Christmas movies that I liked the most as a kid. I can't name them off the top of my head though as I watched them as TV specials and never knew the titles. This did an amazing job tying in all the legends into one coherent story. Highly recommend for fantasy buffs looking for fun Christmas read.

This was lots of fun and a strong follow up to the first book. It did a very good job following up with Agent X (the serum that takes away powers) and Nova and some of the Renegades wondering about the ethics of it. I would have liked to see more Renegades voicing their issues, as it seemed like Nova was the only one who seemed to think it wasn't the best idea (or at least voiced her concerns about it).

There was also a vault of all the Prodigy accessories ever that, as far as I remember, was never mentioned in the first book and served to provide Nova with a lot of interesting tools to easily further her cause. This was my only large issue with the book as a whole. It offered some nice history for Prodigies, which was something I wanted to more of from the first books. I think it was a bit more relevant to the story as the events of the Age of Anarchy become more relevant which was nice.

This book had an amazing build. It kept on climbing, and while having nice breaks here and there, it was still a very solid climb. The climax and the end of the book was absolutely amazing and it was so epic to read. I absolutely love it. It was a step up from the ending of [b:Renegades|28421168|Renegades (Renegades, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494896884l/28421168._SX50_.jpg|48526305]. I liked how the author used dual perspectives to further the tension and I'm very worried for the protagonists in the next book.

I kind of like the romance in the book but seriously if it works out in the last book...
I just don't think this is a good setup unless someone does some serious soul searching and switches sides. They're both cute and respectful, but it's also based on a lot of dishonesty and since both of their alter egos fight without knowing it, it'll be pretty disastrous.

This book was great. I enjoyed it much more than I did [b:Seraphina|19549841|Seraphina (Seraphina, #1)|Rachel Hartman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387577872l/19549841._SY75_.jpg|17375239] and [b:Shadow Scale|16085457|Shadow Scale (Seraphina, #2)|Rachel Hartman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405355942l/16085457._SY75_.jpg|21451371], the duology this book is a companion too. I did read those around 4 years ago now, so my memory was a bit foggy. However, this book follows Seraphina's younger half-sister Tess, the one most likely to get spanked, as she decides to desert her family and her impending sentencing to the Sisters of St Loola and runs off in search of an adventure.

This book started off pretty slow. It took about 200 pages to really get going and all of Tess's adventuring. After that, this book was an uphill climb. I absolutely loved watching Tess grow on the road along with Pathka. I loved the expansion of the world that was away from the politics of Serphina. It has the same writing style that gets better as you read. Heartman manages to bring a lot to this series with many interesting characters and instances. It was hard to get into at first, but some of that could have been because of the plot, but it began to either change or feel more appropriate (I'm not quite sure) as Tess grew and changed.

I found the Quoola and their customs incredibly interesting. I remember being a bit underwhelmed with the Dragons in Seraphina, but these little guys were interested in intricate. Kikiu and Pathka were the best side characters. They complimented Tess and Pathka provided a bit of a perspective for Tess's mother while Kikiu was, in a way, Tess. It provided interesting character dynamics on the road. It helped this book capture my imagination and both characters were very well fleshed out and complementary to Tess.

I just enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. It gave a different p[resective to Seraphina, expanded the world, and had amazing characters and mythology. The book felt so original with its peoples and languages and creatures. The whole mythology behind searching for the World Snakes was amazing. I liked how it started out as a fun little quirk making Pathka different from the others in his nest, and later became a central theme to the story as well as Tess's journey.

If it's not obvious, I highly recommend this book. It's completely comprehensible if you've never read Seraphina. you might not appreciate some different perspective or notice a few characters here and there, but it can be read as its own standalone. If you want a spontaneous adventure coming of age, this is the book for you.

January read for my bookeclub: https://www.bookeclub.com/496/
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